Artist Dan Keplinger (born 19 January 1973) was featured in the

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

-winning documentary short, ''

King Gimp ''King Gimp'' is a 1999 documentary that was awarded the 2000 Oscar for Best Short Subject Documentary and 2000 Peabody Award. ''King Gimp'' follows the life of artist Dan Keplinger of Towson, Maryland, who has cerebral palsy. Filmmakers Susan ...

''. Born with

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...

, he lives in

Towson, Maryland Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 59,533 in the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincorpo ...

, where he continues to paint.

Education

After attending a school for disabled children, he was mainstreamed into Parkville High School in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

at age 16. He is a 1998 graduate of

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its foundin ...

with a major in mass communication. Keplinger visits schools as a guest motivational speaker.

The name King Gimp

According to ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

'', "King Gimp was the name neighbors gave him as a child because his house was on the top of a hill and he liked to roll down it in his wheelchair. A fighting spirit, he calls himself." He explained to a huge audience that "gimp" means fighting spirit to him, when he was featured in a

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

ad for

Cingular Wireless AT&T Mobility, LLC, also known as AT&T Wireless and marketed as simply AT&T, is an American telecommunications company. Formed in April 2000 as Cingular Wireless LLC, It is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T Inc. and provides wireless serv ...

in 2001.

Keplinger's art

Through school Keplinger participated in many Art Department shows. In addition, his work was shown all across Maryland sponsored by Very Special Arts. In 1993 he was the Very Special Arts featured artist in their show at the Eubie Blake Cultural Center in Baltimore City. Currently, he is exclusively represented by the

Phyllis Kind Gallery Phyllis Barbara Kind ( Cobin; 1933–2018) was an American art dealer active in Chicago and New York. She promoted the work of the Chicago Imagists and outsider artists. Early life and family Phyllis Kind was born Phyllis Barbara Cobin in The B ...

SOHO, New York SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall (SoHo), and ha ...

.Phyllis Kind Gallery Keplinger page
/ref> Keplinger had his first solo show in May 2000. He has had work in several shows across the country including 2001-2002 eMotion Picture, An Exhibition of Orthopedics in Art.

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Herbst International Exhibition Hall at the San Francisco Presidio,

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

Millennium Arts Center,

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Chicago Cultural Center The Chicago Cultural Center, opened in 1897, is a Chicago Landmark building operated by Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The Cultural Center houses the city's official reception venue, where the Mayor of Chicago, M ...

New York, NY New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, United Cerebral Palsy Great Expressions art show 2000 and 2001, Towson and MD Sheppard Pratt Conference Center. Keplinger's art features large canvases with bold colors and many are self-portraits. Keplinger says this about his art:

"At a glance my work seems to be about my perception in society and how I overcome it. I include images of my wheelchair because it is my main mode of conveyance and a major part of my daily life, but these pieces are about much more than my disability. Obstacles and challenges are a universal part of the human condition. We all face them in everyday life, however we also have a choice as to how we deal with them. Many of us are likely to get discouraged during difficult times in our lives. In my work I hope to show everybody that they have the ability to persevere."

"When I start a piece, I just think of what I have to say and not who is going to view it. I know people are not going to view my work as I do, but everyone can get the overall message."

Keplinger has begun working in clay as well.

Documentaries

In 1983 Susan Hadary and William Whiteford featured Keplinger in their documentary "Beginning With Bong" dealing with the education of disabled children. Later the same filmmakers devoted the documentary ''King Gimp'' to Keplinger. ''King Gimp'' won the 2000

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for Best Documentary. The film also won a

Peabody award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

and was nominated for a national

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

. In 2004 the same filmmakers produced a sequel to ''King Gimp'' entitled ''The King’s Miracle''. In 2001, Dan was featured in a nationally televised

commercial, which was ranked as number one by USA Today.

External links

His art can be viewed hereClay work
*

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keplinger, Dan 1973 births Living people American artists People with cerebral palsy Towson University alumni